Ayanna Pressley Wants To Lower Federal Voting Age From 18 To 16

Then-Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., adjusts her coat after posing with other members of the freshman class of Congress for a group photo on Capitol Hill in Washington in November 2018. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

The Massachusetts Democrat made the proposal as her first amendment since winning election last year. The House Rules Committee approved the amendment on Tuesday and allowed the bill to proceed to the floor.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, chairman of the committee, said he believes the bill will pass.

Pressley said young people across the country are taking the lead on key issues from gun violence to climate change. She said that under her amendment people as young as 16 could vote to elect members of Congress and the president.

In a Wednesday press release, Pressley said she believes those who will inherit the country should have a say in electing those who represent them. She noted that in some states like Massachusetts 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote.

Pressley offered the proposal as an amendment to a Democratic-backed bill aimed in part at expanding voting rights.